The former Indian all-rounder Rishi Dhawan, who made his International debut under the leadership of MS Dhoni has announced his retirement from the white-ball cricket. Played three ODIs and a T20I for India in 2016, Rishi led Himachal to their maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy title in 2021-22. He’ll keep playing the red-ball cricket.
India and Himachal Pradesh fast-bowling all-rounder Rishi Dhawan announced his retirement from limited-overs cricket through an Instagram post. The 34-year-old retired with four caps (3 in ODIs and 1 in T20Is) in 2016. The announcement came after group stage completion in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Dhawan’s retirement post specified limited-overs cricket, which certainly means that he’ll continue to play first-class cricket at least for the remainder of the ongoing Ranji Trophy season. Himachal currently stands at number 2 in Group B and competes for the spot in the quarter-finals. Having played all 5 matches of this season so far, Dhawan is the second-highest run-getter with 397 runs at an average of 79.40 with 11 wickets at an average of 28.45.
Dhawan made his ODI debut in 2016 against Australia in Melbourne, went on to play 3 matches in this format, and scored just 12 runs at an average of 12.00, conceding 160 runs with a single wicket at an average of 160.00. Talking about the T20Is – the only T20I he played was against Zimbabwe in the same year in June, where he registered only 1 run with bowling figures of 1/42 in four overs with an average of 42.00.
Rishi Dhawan played his first List-A game for Himachal Pradesh in 2008. Having enjoyed a dream season in 2021-22, Dhawan led Himachal Pradesh to their maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy title. Rishi scored 458 runs with 17 wickets in that tournament.
In 134 List A games, 186 wickets were bagged by Dhawan at an average of 29.74, and 2906 runs were smashed at an average of 38.23, including a century. In 135 T20s, 118 wickets were grabbed by him at an average of 26.44 and runs were conceded at an economy rate of 7.06 whereas 1740 runs were slammed at a strike rate of 121.33.
In the IPL, Dhawan has played for two teams, Kings XI Punjab (Punjab Kings) (2014-24), and Mumbai Indians (2013). During all these years, he has played 39 matches, in which he has scored 210 runs with an average of 19.09. Along with the runs, he has registered 25 wickets by conceding 891 runs at an average of 35.64.
Becoming the first player in the history of the Vijay Hazare Trophy to finish among the top five run-getters and the top five wicket-takers in the same season, Rishi Dhawan’s contribution to limited-overs cricket will surely be remembered. However, as he retires from limited-overs cricket, it will be interesting to see him grow in first-class cricket.
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